93 – You and I, Us – 2

Lucy could not understand why she was doing this.

As she had spent nearly two weeks repeating the cycle of infiltrating, hiding, assassinating, escaping, and backstabbing with a shedding cat, her already acute senses had become even sharper; but in return, it felt as if her mind had grown just as sharp.

Furthermore, even that was completely over now.

While it was good that they had succeeded in infiltrating the deep parts of the factory and securing a large amount of evidence, in return, they were surrounded by monsters in a place with no way out.

—From vampires to ogres, anyone would think this was a dungeon instead of a secret hideout of the Light Faction.

Despite Lucy’s sarcastic voice, the enemies’ attitude remained unchanged.

Melting down the barrage of magic from the vampires flying toward her in place of an answer with light, she clicked her tongue once again.

—Tsk, it was a request from my contractor, so I wanted to fulfill it if possible…

Now, the power remaining in her was not much either.

Because she knew what kind of situation her contractor was currently in, she also hesitated to draw more spiritual power from him.

Yes, honestly, if she had helped this much so far, she had tried very hard.

Now, it was time to return to her contractor’s arms.

—It was fun, cat. It’s a shame we won’t be able to move this evidence outside.

“It is not the end, nya.”

Nabinya quietly replied.

The body of the creature—whose complexion had been good and whose fur had been glossy like a well-bred house cat when they first met—was now dirty with dust and blood clots clinging to it, and with scratches all over, her wildness stood out like a stray cat.

However, her combat ability was easily more than double compared to before she had infiltrated the hideout.

In the eyes of the creature who had overcome terrible battles multiple times during a short period of less than two weeks, a fighting spirit that would not easily fade was harbored.

—You want to keep going? I’m sorry, but it’s not like my energy wells up endlessly, you know…?

“Thank you for helping me until now, but that is not it, nya.”

In her hand was a Letaphone small enough to be held even by a cat’s paw.

Seeing her constantly check the Letaphone even while fleeing, she had thought she might be sending a distress signal to her kin, but since all the brave elites who could help the two were said to have gone out on requests, that would not be the case either.

Tucking the Letaphone into her chest, the creature spoke in a firm voice.

“The captain is coming soon, nya.”

—The captain? Who are you talking about, Cait Sith?

“The request itself that drew him and the knight order out was a trap, nya. Since he figured that out, the request is automatically canceled, and he said that the captain would come here first for now, nya. It was worth holding out until now, nya.”

—Even if he comes right away, do you know how far the distance is?

“…It is not only humans and goblins who have secrets hidden from the alliance, nya.”

Nabinya quietly muttered and took off one of her shoes to place it on the floor.

“And this is also one of the reasons why I asked Master for shoes, nya. Since Cait Siths who received shoes are so rare that it is a fact unknown to the public, even the suspiciously knowledgeable Master probably does not know this, nya.”

“The kitten has finally given up on her life!”

“I am the one to finish her!”

“I’ve sucked cat blood before, but I wonder if a Cait Sith is a bit different?”

To the bastards surrounding the two, Nabinya’s action of taking off her shoe must have seemed like an act of desperation.

They began to narrow the distance more boldly while still remaining wary of Lucy.

Yet Nabinya only wore a smile on her lips even as she saw her death approaching.

And the moment the bastards finally entered range—it was just when Lucy was about to burn her last remaining light and return to her contractor.

“Phew.”

—Kyaak?!

From the shoe Nabinya had taken off, a sophisticated bowler hat suddenly popped out.

Just as much as Lucy was surprised, the enemies were also astonished by it, and those who instinctively thought of it as an enemy launched attacks toward it all at once, but—

Surprisingly, all of them were helplessly deflected by the bowler hat.

“Nyaa.”

Immediately after, with a slightly drawn-out cat’s meow, a black-furred cat that emerged from the narrow shoe swung his rapier, deflecting all of the magic, claws, and ogres’ fists.

No, that was not all.

A chilly aura emitted from the tip of the rapier pierced holes in the foreheads of several who were attacking them, neatly taking their lives.

Surprisingly, even the ogres with giant builds and overwhelming defense were no exception.

“Th-That guy.”

“Boots?! How!”

“Sp-Space leap… To think the Cait Sith bastards were hiding such a racial trait!”

Astonished by the sight of their comrades dying in an instant, the monsters widened the gap once again.

Meanwhile, the black-furred Cait Sith, who had overwhelmed the enemies with overwhelming attack power the moment he appeared, landed lightly on the floor with a soft tap and looked back at the party.

Stroking his finely grown whiskers with a front paw, he smiled brightly at Nabinya.

“You have really worked hard, Nabi, nya. You have become a cool man, nya.”

“Captain!”

The first thing that caught the eye was the black leather boots wrapping the two legs of the cat standing on the floor.

He wore a black jacket that looked like a tailcoat draped over his body like a cloak, and it went very well with the bowler hat playfully perched on his head.

His tight and slender muscular body, rare for a cat, gave off the feeling of a sharp sword.

“To think our Nabi has already received shoes, I am moved, nya.”

In contrast to his cute and sophisticated appearance, his voice was unexpectedly that of a dignified male, and the Cait Sith’s voice, ringing uniquely in the quiet atmosphere that fell after his appearance, dominated the scene.

“C-Captain.”

“Mmm, they suit you well after all, nya.”

Picking up the flat shoe rolling on the floor, he walked over to Nabinya, slipped it back onto her, and smiled gently.

“They are very excellent shoes, nya. You have found a truly good master, nya.”

“Of course he is a good master, but it is a shame to leave the guild like this, nya…”

“Hahaha, that is indeed something to celebrate, nya. Every member of our Imagine will rejoice in Nabi’s growth, nya.”

The Cait Sith who gave Nabi a pat on the shoulder with a hearty laugh, Boots, suddenly whipped his rapier through the air.

A black stone flying toward them was cleanly cut in half.

Something tried to burst out from within it, but the mighty aura harbored in the rapier cleanly erased even that.

“Ogres, they really are a race that knows no manners, nya. Interrupting a touching reunion like this.”

Baring his sharp teeth as he turned around, Boots spoke as he glared at the target that had thrown the magic bomb at the party.

The fellow who appeared after completely smashing the hideout’s hallway and walls was an ogre whose giant build of easily over five meters was impressive—if Gi-jun had been present, he would have been surprised, thinking the beast looked stronger than the one he had dealt with.

—Cait Sith… Those insect-like goblin bastards feared a creature like you so much that they only proceeded with their work after driving you out of Cor.

“What, wait—Aaaargh!”

“Sp-Spare me! Spare—!”

Muttering in a low, echoing voice, the ogre suddenly snatched several humans who had retreated near him with his giant palm, and swallowed the screaming bastards whole.

—I do not know how you crawled all the way here, but it is just as well. Since they said all variables would disappear if only you were gone—I will erase you myself.

“Fuhu, goblins are ugly, but their heads aren’t bad, nya.”

Boots added with a cheerful laugh.

“Why did they fear this small and weak body and make a fake request to drive me away, nya? An ogre with a big head but a small brain doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of this, nya.”

—Speaking of which, your body is tiny! You won’t even be a single bite—!

There was compatibility for everything in the world.

A representative example was Gi-jun’s Light Mana and his contracted spirits, Lucy and Ur.

Although no one had told them to do so, the three who had gathered miraculously were, without exception, strong against negative concepts such as ‘darkness,’ ‘evil,’ and ‘undead.’

Thus, creatures like vampires, ogres, and undead were naturally disadvantaged in compatibility against Gi-jun.

—I will turn you into fur dough—!

“Humph.”

That light and fire were strong against darkness was a compatibility that anyone could understand intuitively, but there also existed compatibility that could not be grasped at a glance.

Gi-jun also possessed such a thing, namely the title, The Last Hero.

This was the karma achieved by Gi-jun when he was left alone to struggle against Biche, using everything he had learned from her to finally bring an end to her avatar as an NPC.

As a result, he was able to enjoy the title effect that enhanced his power by 30% when facing bosses of the dark/evil attribute; although someone seeing it for the first time would never know, this could be said to be a clear advantage in compatibility.

And such a compatibility also existed between some Cait Siths and ogres.

“Hup!”

Boots suddenly took off his bowler hat and threw it toward the ogre rushing at him.

Spinning in the air, a blade suddenly popped out from the edge of the bowler hat as it shot rapidly like a boomerang, sharply grazing the ogre’s neck.

Surprisingly, at that moment, the ogre was unable to move and froze on the spot.

—What—!

“There are many names people call me by, but I will introduce one of them, nya.”

The voice came from beneath the ogre’s chin.

The Cait Sith who had launched his body just as he threw the bowler hat had leisurely climbed up the beast’s neck, as if he had already known the ogre would be unable to move.

“I am the Puss in Boots—the Ogre Killer, nya.”

—Nonsense—!

—Thrust.

The rapier Boots thrust forward pierced through the underside of the ogre’s chin and emerged from the crown of its head.

Stirring the beast’s brain with the rapier as if stirring soup with a ladle, the Cait Sith pulled it out with a whoosh, leapt back from the ogre’s corpse to land on the floor—and caught the bowler hat that had circled back through the air just in time.

“If you do not know, you die, nya.”

Shaking the bowler hat once in the air and placing it gently on his head, Boots smirked and muttered.

Watching the ogre—who seemed to rank high even among Unique-grade monsters—die in just a few seconds, Lucy blinked both of her eyes.

—What is this…?

“Cait Siths wearing boots are strong against ogres, nya. Master probably knows this, nya. It is a trait of our species-exclusive class, nya.”

Nabinya, who had also been watching Boots’s active role in a daze, gave a brief explanation, but there was no way Lucy could be convinced by just that.

Of course, not caring whether she was convinced or not, Boots raised the rapier with which he had just finished an ogre, aimed it at the remaining enemies, and smiled leisurely.

“We are particularly strong against ogres, but that does not mean we become weak against other races, nya. Well, we do not have time, so come at me all at once, nya.”

“We can’t win, we can’t beat that guy!”

“Run, give up on the factory!”

“But if this place is exposed, it’s completely over in Cor—”

“Why don’t we just collapse everything—!”

However, the bastards were not given the leeway to attack Boots, nor the leeway to turn around and flee, and of course, not even the leeway to collapse the entire hideout.

This was because the passage where the ogre had appeared collapsed even further, and several humans revealed themselves.

This time, they were allies, not enemies.

“Lucy!”

—Contractorrrrrr!

As soon as she heard the voice calling her, Lucy’s eyes flew open and she rushed toward him.

Gi-jun, who caught Lucy stably, stroked her head with his finger and let out a small laugh.

“You protected Nabinya until the end. Thank you.”

—Ah—that—

Blinking her eyes and hesitating for a moment, Lucy soon smiled brightly and nodded.

—Since it was my contractor’s request, of course I had to protect her! Did I do well? Praise me! Hug me tight!

“Yes, thank you, it must have been hard. Do you want some brown sugar?”

—Ugh, I’m good on that for the time being…

Since they had survived by eating only brown sugar after the emergency rations in Nabinya’s inventory ran out, just hearing the words brown sugar made Lucy, and Nabinya as well, wear fed-up expressions.

Chuckling at the sight as he held her in his arms, Gi-jun narrowed his eyes as he looked back at the vampires, ogres, and humans who were confronting the Puss in Boots.

“Then, I only need to clean you all up.”

“We must leave some alive, Lord Jun. Since we need to present them as witnesses.”

“Of course.”

Nodding at Unika’s words as he stepped forward, Gi-jun made eye contact with the Cait Sith, Boots, who was across the room with the enemies between them.

As if they had made a promise, the two nodded simultaneously and charged straight ahead—.

It did not take very long for the situation to be completely settled.

* * *

Having returned to the guild after completing a request as always, Ye-min’s party received quite a lot of attention.

And with good reason, as the main force of the ogre raid had failed miserably and they, who had been pushed to the reserve unit, ended up dealing with the ogre and taking all the achievements and loot; while it might have been a successful outcome for their party, it was bound to look vexing in the eyes of others.

Of course, there was no way Ye-min would care about such jealousy.

She did not have the luxury to be held back by insect-like bastards who were not only weak but also small-minded.

Their party’s goal was to grow as much as possible while the guild supported them and leave for a bigger stage even a day sooner.

“Ogre Slayer?”

“Yes, it’s a Rare-grade title.”

“I obtained it too.”

While reporting the quest results and having a drink along with a simple snack at the restaurant run by the guild, the topic of titles came up.

It was not that they lacked titles in the tutorial, but perhaps because most of the monsters had appeared in a weakened state, there were not many titles that could be obtained by hunting monsters—but this time, by finally hunting a strong monster worthy of being called ‘named,’ Ye-min and Eun-shin obtained titles.

“I am sorry, Uncle. Even though you drew the beast’s attention and created an opening for Shin and me to attack.”

“No, I don’t need such a title anyway. So, what did you say the effect is? All skill effects are enhanced by 20% when facing ogres?”

“Yes. From what I hear, it seems there is a title higher than this. Even if we grew stronger in the second round of the tutorial, we are still nothing after all…”

Ye-min murmured bitterly as she emptied her glass.

Nevertheless, since the news about the ogre raid in this small city was indeed astonishing, stories about ogres were pouring out here and there in the restaurant—

—Bam!

Suddenly, a man who kicked open the guild door and entered shouted in a loud voice.

“Breaking news! Did you hear the news that the ogre bastards of the Dark Faction secretly participated in the faction war that took place in Cor?!”

“An ogre? How could they hide that massive body!”

“Get lost and stop talking nonsense!”

“Those of you with Letaphones, verify it with the summoned in Cor, it’s real! I’m telling you the ogre bastards with transformation abilities disguised their race and participated!”

Even though voices telling him not to lie poured out, the man shouted resoundingly without yielding.

A person whose curiosity was piqued called him over, handed him a cold glass of beer, and asked.

“So, what happened?”

“The Divine Beast Hunter, Jun, beat them all to death! Alone, he wiped out all of the hundreds of ogres! Kyah!”

“Damn it, giving him that beer was a waste.”

“Hey—kick that bastard out!”

“Ah, it’s real! Ack! I’m telling you it’s real!”

Despite the fists and kicks flying from here and there, the man held on to his beer glass until the end and endured.

“Not only did the ogres transform, but a single person swept away hundreds of them… What do you two think?”

“Wait…”

Eun-shin, who was observing it with an interested expression, was about to ask the two what they thought, when Ye-min, who was listening to it together, suddenly furrowed her brow and muttered.

“Divine Beast Hunter… Jun…?”